St. Louis University graduate students who work for the university are trying to form a union that would allow them to win improved working conditions.
In a petition filed Monday with the National Labor Relations Board, the Graduate Workers St. Louis University Union-UAW aims to include all enrolled graduate students who receive financial stipends greater than tuition remission or housing and are graduate assistants who work for the university. Organizers stated that the union would include graduate students who work as fellows or trainees and are required to work for the university.
“Graduate workers make essential contributions to the teaching and research missions at SLU, but many of us still struggle to pay high housing and other costs in Saint Louis, lack secure rights in the workplace, and face increasing uncertainty about our futures given the precarious nature of our current working conditions,” according to the union organizing website.
Organizers would join the United Auto Workers, which represents more than 100,000 academic workers across the country. The Graduate Workers St. Louis University Union-UAW seeks to include 650 graduate students.
It’s the latest in a growing number of graduate student unionization efforts across the country. According to a report by the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions, the number of graduate students who have unionized has increased more than 130% over the past 12 years.
The petition comes days after the university announced it would lay off 23 staff members and freeze 130 vacant staff positions. Officials said the decision was necessary to sustain the university's financial viability. Earlier this month, the university announced it would cut expenses by $20 million.
